Jet fiber texturizer



Nov. 25, 1969 c. 1.. LOVELAND I 3,479,707

JET FIBER TEXTURIZER Filed Aug. 2, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 3 I ;//////4 2w i &

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JET FIBER TEXTURIZER Filed Aug. 2, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 lNV N OR 6/5/59 ova/1N1) J ATT RNEYS United States Patent 3,479,707 JET FIBERTEXTURIZER Chester L. Loveland, Dalton, Pa., assignor to US. TextileMachine Company, Scranton, Pa., a corporation of PennsylvaniaContinuation-impart of application Ser. No. 543,700, Apr. 19, 1966. Thisapplication Aug. 2, 1967, Ser. No. 660,561

Int. Cl. D02g 1/16 US. Cl. 28-1 12 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Ayarn texturing device wherein a jet of fluid is applied to a yarn forbulking the latter. The yarn texturing device has a cylindrical housingprovided with a cylindr' al passageway extending therethrough, and ayarn needle is concentrically positioned in the passageway and isprovided with an axial yarn-conveying bore extending therethrough. Thisneedle is formed at a forward portion with a section of a diameter whichis less than the diameter of the housing passageway to define an annularspace with the latter. An orifice block is fitted into the housingpassageway at its end opposite from the needle, and this block has anaxial bore aligned with the axial bore extending through the needle. Theaxial bore of the block is provided with an abruptly enlarged entranceopening at an end which surrounds the forward end of the needle to forman annular chamber therewith. An air inlet for introducing air into theannular space between the housing and needle communicates with theinterior of the housing and has a central axis which is offset from thelongitudinal central axis of the annular space between the housing andthe needle, so that in this way, the air which is introduced into thehousing has considerable turbulence for bulking the yarn as it movesthrough the axial bores of the needle and orifice block.

Cross reference to related application This application is acontinuation-in-part of copending application Ser. No. 543,700, filedApr. 19, 1966, and now abandoned, and entitled Jet Fiber Texturizer.

Background of the invention This invention relates to an improvement inan apparatus and process for treating a bundle of filaments such asfiberglass yarn to produce a bulky strand composed of a plurality ofindividual filaments.

In the textile industry there are many instances in which a bulked yarnis desirable to provide an increase in the air space between thefilaments for adding greater warmth-giving, lightness, and coveringpower to the yarn. In recent years a new method of producing such bulkedyarn has been developed which involves passing a filamentary materialthrough a rapidly moving turbulent fluid such as air, thereby inducing amultitude of crunodal filament loops at random intervals along theindividual filaments. These loops and snarls of entangled loops increasethe bulk of the continuous filament yarns considerably and result in thefabrics of improved cover and bulk, handle and the like.

Such an apparatus is disclosed in my patent No. 2,994,- 938 whichdiscloses a jet texturing device in which the yarn is passed through ayarn needle into a plenum 3,479,707 Patented Nov. 25, 1969 chamberthrough which a turbulent fluid is passed, thereby forming the loops andsnarls in the fiber. However, the known apparatus is limited as to thedenier or thickness of the yarn which may be treated in this manner. Theknown jet texturing devices are also limited as to the rate at which theyarn may be processed.

Summary of the invention It is therefore, an object of the presentinvention to provide an improved fiber texturing device for use intreating filamentary material such as fiberglass.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a jet fibertexturing device by means of which an increase in processing rates isachieved over such devices known in the art.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improvedjet yarn bulking device by which the amount of bulking of a continuousfiberglass yarn is substantially increased.

In accordance with this invention there is provided a yarn texturingdevice in which the filaments are introduced into a chamber formedbetween a yarn needle and a cylindrical housing, and in which a highpressure air input directs air into the chamber. According to onefeature of the invention, the high pressure air input passage has itsaxis displaced from the central axis of the chamber and is not coplanartherewith. It has been found that by so positioning the air input asubstantially increased fluid turbulence may be created in a turbulencechamber formed between the tip of the yarn needle and an exhaust venturisection formed within the cylindrical housing.

Another feature of the present invention resides in a nozzle extensioncontaining various control plenum chambers which communicate with theoutlet venturi to control the whirlpool action of the discharged air andtexturized yarn from the venturi.

The overall result of the improved jet texturing device as hereinpresented, is an increased bulk and a high degree of uniformity oftextured fiber, which may be processed at increased linear rates.

Brief description of the drawings The apparatus of this invention willbe more readily understood by reference to the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a preferred embodiment of ayarn texturing device illustrating features of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a view taken along line II-II of FIG. 1, illustrating theoifset displacement of the fluid inlet with regard to the central axisof the housing;

FIG. 3 is a section taken on the line III-III of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of a modified embodiment showingalso a preferred construction of the present invention.

Description of preferred embodiments In the drawings, there is shown ayarn texturing device comprising a cylindrical housing 1 having acylindrical passageway 2 extending therethrough. A yarn needle 3 isdisposed within the cylindrical passageway, with a close sliding fit,and has an end yarn inlet portion 4 of reduced cross-section projectingout of the passageway, as seen at the left in FIG. 1. The yarn inlet endof the housing 1 is externally threaded as at 5, and a nut 6 is screwedupon such threads to make contact with the shoulder 7 of the yarn needledefined by the yarn inlet portion 4. The nut 6 holds the needle in placewithin the passageway. The nut 6 has a central axial openingtherethrough which accommodates the outwardly extending end yarn inletportion 4, to which it is suitably attached. Thus, by turning the nut 6,the axial position of the yarn needle 3 may be adjusted to control thebulking of the yarn.

The yarn needle 3 has an axial bore 8 therethrough which terminates in afunnel-shaped entrance 9 in the inlet portion 4. The yarn fibers are fedto the needle through this inlet portion.

The yarn needle 3 is of materially reduced external section over aconsiderable portion of its length at its end opposite to its end yarninlet portion, the reduction in section being abr-upt as shown at 3a inFIG. 1. This reduced section terminates in a discharge end 10 of theneedle. The discharge end 10 has an external cross-section which isfurther abruptly reduced, as at 10a, and continues cylindrically to itsdelivery end. Closely adjacent the discharge end 10 of the yarn needle3, an outlet orifice block 11 is fitted in the cylindrical passageway 2.The outlet orifice block 11 has an axial bore 12 therethrough of adiameter which is larger than that of the axis bore 8 in the yarnneedle. Inwardly of the passageway 2, the axial bore 12 terminates in anentrance opening 13, which surrounds the discharge end 10 of the needlefor a considerable distance back of its delivery opening. The diameterof the entrance opening 13 is substantially larger than the externaldiameter of the discharge end 10 of the yarn needle 3, and a venturipassage is thus formed between the two. It is to be noted that theentrance opening 13 in the outlet orifice block 11 is enlarged abruptly,as at 13a upstream of the axial bore 12.

A forward end 14 of reduced cross-section is formed on the outletorifice block 11, to extend out of the passage 2, and against theresulting annular shoulder 15, a centrally apertured cup-shaped member16 presses to hold the outlet orifice block 11 in place within thehousing 1.

An external nozzle extension 17, having an axial bore 18 therethrough ofsubstantially twice the diameter of that of the bore 12 in the outletorifice block 11, and a counterbore 19 forming a pressure reducingchamber .at the inner end of its axial bore, is held tightly against theouter end of the outlet orifice block 11 with its counterborecommunicating directly with the axial bore 12 in the orifice block.

The fitting which makes the latter connection is shown in FIGS. 1 and 3.Thus, an internally threaded annular member 20 engages external threadson a reduced end portion 21 of the external nozzle extension 17. Bolts22 extend from sockets 23 in the annular member 20, through that member,through the cup-shaped member 16 and into internally threaded bores 24extending inwardly from adjacent end face 25 of the housing 1.

It Will be understood that the filaments pass into the apparatus throughthe funnel-shaped entrance 9, and pass thence through the axial bore 8in the yarn needle 3 to the space between the discharge end 10 of theneedle and the entrance opening 13 of the outlet orifice block 11. Fromthis area, the filaments pass through the larger axial bore 12 of theoutlet orifice block to the pressure reducing chamber formed by thecounterbore 19 of the external nozzle extension 17, and thence throughthe still larger axial bore 18 and out of the machine.

In order to provide an increase in the air space between the filaments,turbulent carrying fluid such as air is added to the filaments as theypass through the apparatus. To this end a nipple 26 is provided toconduct such fluid under pressure through the housing 1 and into thecylindrical passageway 2. As here shown the nipple is formed i t g al yw h. e o ing.

4 Increased fluid turbulence is effected by a novel construction andarrangement at the nipple 26. Thus the bore 27 of the nipple is formedeccentrically of the axis A thereof, and the axis B of the bore 27 iseccentric to the axis of the axial bores 8, 12 and 13 of the successiveelements of the yarn texturing device. In other words, the axis of thebore through the nipple and the axis of the axial bores of thesuccessive elements of the device are not coplanar. Accordingly, thefluid enters the device under pressure to create a swirling motiontherein.

In the embodiment shown, the bore of the nipple 26 has been displaced tothe right (as viewed downstream in FIG. 3) of the central axis of theaxial bores. This displacement is approximately of an inch for anapproximately .375 inch diameter cylindrical passageway 2. A preferablediameter of passageway 2 is .400 inch For use in the southern hemispherethis ofl. center position would be approximately 1 inch to the left sideof the central axis. In this manner, the extent of the turbulence in thespace between the housing and the needle is controlled by takingadvantage of the natural whirlpool effect of either the northern orsouthern hemispheres of the globe. Thus, an offset air flow causes theyarn to bulk in either the clockwise or counterclockwise direction andthereby obtain better loft in the bulk.

Fluid enters the annular space between the wall of the cylindricalpassageway 2 and the portion of the needle 3 which is of reducedsection. By abruptly reducing the section of the needle, as shown at 3ain FIG. 1, additional turbulence is provided in the area where the fluidenters the apparatus. Swirling forward with great turbulence, the fluidpasses into the entrance opening 13 of the outlet orifice block 11around the reduced section of the yarn needle 3 and its further reduceddischarge end 10, and enters the axial bore 12 of the outlet orificeblock with the yarn fibers issuing from the axial bore 8. Upon enteringthe venturi section between the discharge end 10 and the entranceopening 13, the velocity of the fluid is increased. It is into thissection that the yarn is fed. This fluffs the yarn to a certain extent.From the axial bore 12, the fibers and the fluid enter the counterbore19 of the external nozzle extension 17, where the sudden expansion indiameter causes further turbulence and instrusion of the fluid betweenthe fibers. From the counterbore the flutfed fibers pass into the largeaxial bore 18 of the external nozzle extension 17 which delivers thefully textured yarn 28 with increased bulk as illustrated at the rightin FIG. 1.

In jet fiber texturizing devices made in accordance with the embodimentsdisclosed in FIGS. 1-3, the axial bore 12 was given a diameter of .075inch while the coun terbore 19 was given a diameter of .300 inch. Axialbore 18 of external nozzle 17 was given a diameter of .150 inch. Thelength of the axial bore 12 was approximately .400 inch, while the axiallengths of counterbore 19 and bore 18 were approximately .020 of an inchand up to .750 of an inch respectively. These dimensions were applied tocylindrical housing which was 1% inches long having an outside diameterof 1 inch and an inside diameter of approximately .375 to .400 inch. Thebore 27 of nipple 26 was .250 of an inch, offset as previously noted Aof an inch from the axis of bore 2. In any event, it should be notedthat although the central axis of the air inlet is laterally offset fromthe angular space between the housing and needle it is non-tangential tosaid space In the embodiment of the invention which is illustrated inFIG. 4, all of the components are identical with that of FIG. 1 exceptthat the forward end 14' of the outlet orifice block 11 is provided witha tapered axial bore 12', which has at 5 taper, while the externalnozzle extension 17 has an axial bore 18' which also is tapered, thistaper being 7 /2". It has been found that with these tapers a highlyfavorable influence on the texturing of the yarn is achieved,

Furthermore, it has been found from experience that the results whichare achieved are influenced to a considerable extent by the length ofthe external nozzle 17 or 17. In a case where this length is .750 inch,there is a marked improvement in the uniformity of texturing on varioussizes, and in some cases this improvement was as great as 100%. Yarnirregularity in bulking and looping was minimized in all cases wherethis length of .750 inch was used. In the case, for example, where anozzle of inch or less was used, the irregularities were far morenoticeable and texturing qualities were very erratic. Thus, it isbelieved on the basis of experience that a length of .750 inch for theexternal nozzle may be an optimum nozzle length for texturizing yarn,all other conditions remaining the same.

The various dimensions, above noted, particularly the .750 inch lengthfor the external nozzle, are best suited for all types of texturizingyarns; that is, fiberglass, nylon, Dacron, etc. However, this nozzlediameter and length may be varied to suit different types of yarn aswell as deniers. The kind of bulk desired also establishes nozzledimensioning; small diameter for minimum bulk to large diameter formaximum bulk.

It will be appreciated that all abrupt changes of diameter in theapparatus increase the turbulence of the air or other fluid and itsfiuffing action upon the fibers.

It is of importance that the apparatus have dimensions such that air, orother compressible fluid utilized, will have a velocity equal to atleast one-half sonic velocity, and preferably sonic velocity, where itfirst strikes the yarn in the zone of turbulence immediately downstreamfrom the discharge end of the needle.

By the use of a jet texturing device constructed in accordance with theinvention, it has been found that an increase in bulkiness of treatedcontinuous filament fiberglass yarns may be increased by approximately100%, and furthermore an increase of between 150% and 300% in the rateof processing over previously used texturizing devices may be achieved.Yarn has been successfully texturized at a rate of 240 yards per minuteby the use of the yarn texturing device described above.

While it is obvious that modifications of the present disclosure can bemade by those skilled in the art, it is my wish and intention that theinvention described be limited only by the scope of the claims which areappended below.

What is clairned is:

1. A yarn texturing device for processing yarn comprising a cylindricalhousing having a cylindrical passageway extending therethrough, a yarnneedle concentrically positioned in said passageway having an axial yarnconveying bore extending therethrough and being formed at a forwardportion thereof in a section of a diameter less than the diameter ofsaid housing passageway for defining therewith an annular space, saidyarn needle having an outer surface in a plane parallel to saidpassageway with at lest one abruptly reduced section provided with awall which is transverse to the plane of said passageway, an orificeblock fitting into said housing passageway at the opposite end of saidhousing from said needle, said block having an axial bore aligned withthe axial bore extending through said needle and having an abruptlyenlarged entrance opening at its inner end surrounding the end of saidneedle and forming therewith an'annular chamber, and an air inlet forintroducing air into the annular space between the housing and theneedle, the central axis of said air inlet being substantiallytransverse to but laterally otfset from the longitudinal central axis ofthe annular space between the housing and the needle whereby turbulenceof the air is increased and additional turbulence of the air is createdby said abruptly reduced section of the yarn needle.

2. A yarn texturing device according to claim 1, further comprising anexternal nozzle extension secured to the outer end of said orificeblock, said external nozzle extension having an axial bore therethrough,and a counterbored pressure reducing chamber communicating and in axialalignment with said passageway, said axial bore of said external nozzlecommunicating with said chamber and said orifice block and coaxialtherewith.

3. A yarn texturing device according to claim 2, wherein the axial boreof said external nozzle extension is twice the diameter of the axialbore of said orifice block.

4. A yarn texturing device according to claim 3, wherein the diameter ofsaid pressure reducing chamber is twice that of the axial bore of saidexternal nozzle extension.

5. The combination of claim 2 and wherein said external nozzle has alength of .750 inch.

6. The combinations of claim 2 and wherein said axial bore of saidorifice block and said outlet conduit of said external nozzle are bothtapered in a downstream direction.

7. The combination of claim 6 and wherein the taper of said orificeblock is on the order of 5 and the taper of said conduit of saidexternal nozzle extension is on the order of 7 /2 8. A yarn texturingapparatus comprising a cylindrical housing, a yarn needle having a yarnpassageway therethrough concentrically placed within said housing, aportion of said yarn needle being of reduced cross-sectional areathereby forming an annular space between said area and the interior ofsaid housing, said yarn needle having an outer surface in a planeparallel to said passageway with at least one abruptly reduced sectionprovided with a wall which is transverse to the plane of saidpassageway, a yarn exit member in the form of a venturi disposed at thedownstream end of said housing having an entrance opening into which thedelivery end of said yarn needle extends, and a fluid inlet passagewayextending into said chamber and located transverse to said passagewayand having its central axis laterally olfset from the central axis ofsaid passageway whereby turbulence of'the air is increased andadditional turbulence of the air is created by said abruptly reducedsection of the yarn needle.

9. A yarn texturing apparatus as recited in claim 8, wherein a nozzleextension is aifixed to said yarn exit member coaxially therewith, saidnozzle extension having a first and a second passageway in coaxialregistry with said yarn passageway.

10. A yarn texturing device comprisig a cylindrical housing having acylindrical passageway extending therethrough, a yarn needleconcentrically positioned in said passageway having an axial yarnconveying bore extending therethrough and being formed at a forwardportion thereof in a section of a diameter less than the diameter ofsaid housing passageway for defining therewith an annular space, saidyarn needle having an outer surface in a plane parallel to saidpassageway with at least one abruptly reduced section provided with awall which is transverse to the plane of said passageway, an orificeblock fitting into said housing passageway at the opposite end of saidhousing from said needle, said block having an axial bore aligned withthe axial bore extending through said needle and having an abruptlyenlarged entrance opening at its inner end surrounding the end of saidneedle and forming therewith an annular chamber, and an air inlet havinga bore for introducing air into the annuspace between the housing of theneedle, the central axis of said air inlet being substantiallytransverse to but laterally olfset from the longitudinal central axis ofsaid annular space between the housing and the needle and non-tangentialand at least part of said bore of the air inlet overlying saidlongitudinal central axis of said annular space whereby turbulence ofthe air is increased and additional turbulence of the air is created bysaid abruptly reduced section of the yarn needle.

11. A yarn texturing device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said yarnprocessed is continuous fiber glass yarn.

12. A yarn texturing device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the centralaxis of said air inlet is oflset a distance of A of an inch from thelongitudinal central axis of said annular space between the housing andthe needle.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS FOREIGN PATENTS 5 JAMES KEECHI,Primary Examiner Martyn.

Yamamoto.

Cobb et al.

Dyer 281.4

US. Cl. X.R. 28-72; 57-34

